Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
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March 20
The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register on the state attorney general’s lawsuit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston of knowingly employing pedophiles:
Severe, inexcusable lapses in judgment - and a clear failure to prioritize the welfare of children - have occurred in the Roman Catholic Church over a period of generations. Pressure from parishioners and the public has forced the church to reveal the names of many predator priests responsible for molesting children and sometimes, adults.
Yet, except in rare, isolated situations, transparency regarding their enablers has been missing.
A civil lawsuit filed by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey may reveal at least some of the names of those in the church hierarchy who failed to act decisively to halt the abuses.
Morrisey has filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, after an investigation that began last fall. The suit alleges the diocese and former Bishop Michael J. Bransfield “knowingly employed pedophiles and failed to conduct adequate background checks for those working at the Diocese’s schools and camps . “
Morrisey’s office explained the issue is being pursued as a civil matter because the attorney general’s office lacks the authority to conduct criminal prosecutions. …
Perhaps Morrisey’s lawsuit will shine a light on that aspect of sexual abuse of children by predator priests who were enabled by their superiors.
That type of light has been unacceptably dim for too long. It is time to increase the wattage.
Online: http://www.theintelligencer.net/
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March 20
Charleston Gazette on West Virginia’s support of President Donald Trump:
Donald Trump violates presidential norms on a daily basis. You could write an opinion piece every day about his bizarre behavior, and some people do.
But, as has been stated time and again, Trump did better in West Virginia than anywhere else in the 2016 election. Until late last year, he polled higher in West Virginia than any other state (that honor, much like West Virginia’s coal industry, has since moved to Wyoming, according to a fairly recent report from PolitiFact). And, since West Virginia is closer to D.C. than Wyoming, Trump has been here eight times since his election. Eight!
Trump loves the Mountain State, and the Mountain State (slightly less than Wyoming, but still at around 60 percent) loves Trump.
The president does have a funny way of showing his affection outside of political rallies, though. He tried to repeal, and continues to try to undermine, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which helps provide health insurance to hundreds of thousands of West Virginians. His most recent budget proposal would gut Medicare by $840 billion. West Virginia has the oldest or second-oldest (depending on the year) population in the U.S., and scores of residents rely on that program.
OK, so maybe say it’s not about policy with this guy. Maybe West Virginia likes Trump because he’s loud, rude and unafraid of breaking political norms …
Is there a line Trump could truly cross with six out of 10 West Virginians? Could he exhibit any behavior that would give them pause?
What about obsessively tweeting to berate a former GOP U.S. senator who died not seven months ago from brain cancer?
How disturbing is it that the president of the United States picked up his phone on Saturday afternoon and continued into Sunday morning tweeting strange and factually erroneous statements about former Arizona Sen. John McCain? It’s something Trump can’t let go. Even early on in his candidacy, Trump (who received four medical deferments so he wouldn’t be deployed to Vietnam) criticized McCain’s status as a war hero - a man who was held captive and tortured for five years - uttering the infamous statement about preferring people who don’t get captured.
So Trump didn’t like McCain. And the feeling was mutual. … But attacking a dead person seems to indicate something beyond dislike and more toward obsessive cruelty and a complete lack of empathy.
Trump gets a pass on bad form constantly. Time and again, anywhere from 38 percent to 41 percent of the nation doesn’t have a problem with it. But do West Virginians really want to be the cradle of support for someone who doesn’t know not to spike a football on someone’s grave? Think about it.
Online: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/
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March 18
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on unwanted robocalls:
If there is something, anything, that lawmakers can agree upon in Washington perhaps it could be fighting robocalls. Robocalls are unwanted and unsolicited calls that Americans across the nation must deal with on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
In West Virginia, these unsolicited phone calls are among the top complaints received by the office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. His office is doing everything possible on a state level to combat the problem of robocalls, including updating do-not-call lists. But without further federal legislative moves, local officials are limited in what they can do to stop these nuisance calls.
That’s why Morrisey’s office is now partnering with all 50 state attorney generals - both Republicans and Democrats - in an effort to fight this growing problem
Morrisey recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. with other attorneys general to lobby for such changes while also meeting with President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and new Attorney General William Barr. Morrisey also recently brought leaders of phone companies into his office to talk to them about the robocall dilemma as well.
“We have to eliminate opposition to this,” Morrisey said of legislation to bring more technology into solving the problem. “The calls not only annoy people, they are reckless . and we have to takes steps to put them to an end. We are pushing Congress on this.”
The technology is available to require caller authenticity on landline phones, and that would allow consumers to be better protected from unwanted calls, according to Morrisey.
Spoofing is another common problem, where some calls will be shown on caller ID as local numbers to make recipients think it may be somebody local calling, but they originate somewhere else. Morrisey believes a proper authentication of calls is needed.
“It’s a major consumer protection issue,” he said, adding that cell phones need a “spam” file for unrecognized numbers, like email accounts use. “We want to see more empowerment to block these calls.”
Under the proposed legislation legitimate businesses doing telemarketing would still be able to call, but would need to comply with the do-not-call list and not place calls to numbers placed on that list.
Robocalls are a problem for everyone. If you an answer a phone on a regular basis, the odds are you will receive a robocall.
The legislation sought by Morrisey and the other state attorney generals is a common sense measure. It’s also an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together on an issue that affects most Americans.
That’s why Congress should get to work now on addressing this growing nuisance of a problem.
Online: http://www.newsandsentinel.com/
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